With cruise capacity expanding, consumer demand holding strong and technology reshaping the way advisors work, the travel industry is entering a pivotal moment—especially for the trade. In this wide-ranging conversation, Debbie Fiorino, COO of Dream Vacations/CruiseOne—whom we caught up with during Dream Vacations/CruiseOne’s 2025 National Conference aboard the brand-new Star Princess—shares why she believes 2026 is shaping up to be a top year for travel advisors, how mindset plays a critical role in long-term success and why tools like AI, smarter delegation and continued education are no longer optional.
Recommend magazine: You said that the role of the advisor has never been more valuable and that conditions are set for 2026 to be the best year, especially for travel advisors. Can you elaborate on that?
Debbie Fiorino: So a couple things. I think in leisure travel, especially cruise, the inventory is there like we haven’t seen in a long time. And I really do believe that the more technology [there is], the more people are going back to [advisors] because it’s confusing.
I also think cruise lines and resorts are [once again] relying more heavily on the travel advisor. So, the travel advisor has this opportunity to reconnect with people and get them to understand their value and to get them to do repeat business with them. I just don’t see anything slowing down for us. The last 12 weeks have been the best weeks of our business, so going into 2026, we don’t see any headwinds, and it really is truly amazing when you think of everything that’s going on in the world. Leisure travel has just changed in terms of how people [perceive it]—they might not buy the house, they might not buy the car, but they’re going on the trip.”
Recommend magazine: You spoke about “fixed mindset” versus “growth mindset.” Are people born with it, or can someone achieve it?
Fiorino: I think you can achieve it. I’m not a scientist, but I’ve read a lot of books based on science that [show that] you’re not born with it. You can learn it. I think you really just have to have passion, honestly, first and foremost, and you have to have a growth mindset. I think you just [have to] believe you can do anything—by buckling down, learning, growing, working really hard. That’s a growth mindset. So many people in our company are self-taught; so many people who have changed careers.
Actually, Brad Tolkin, World Travel Holdings Co-CEO/Chairman—umbrella company to Dream Vacations/CruiseOne—says you hire people based on the three “I’s.” One is integrity—if you don’t have integrity, you don’t pass go. Number two is intellect—as long as you’re reasonably smart, I can teach you my business. And the third one he calls intensity, which I call passion.
Recommend magazine: You always refer to books. What books do you recommend advisors read?
Fiorino: Oh boy. One is “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance,” by Dr. Angela Duckworth, and “Power of One More,” by Ed Mylett, is another. The latter goes back to hard work—if you’re a salesperson and you’re going to do six calls a day, do seven; if you’re going to work eight hours, work nine; if you’re going to do 30 minutes on the treadmill, do 40. So do one more thing because at the end of the day, at the end of the week, at the end of the year, you’ll be so much further ahead of someone else.
Another one is “The Let Them Theory,” by Mel Robbins, which teaches how to stop wasting energy trying to control others and instead focus on your own life.
[Speaking of focus], the other thing we heard from our most successful agents is that they focus and it’s not necessarily just on one product or how they go to market. It’s getting rid of the noise. Trying to do everything is something that I think is a mistake that a lot of advisors make. So many advisors will say to me that when I say delegate, they’re like, ‘I don’t have anyone to delegate to.’ I’m like, ‘Go spend some money. Go join a host agency, which costs you money. Go buy some technology or go hire an assistant. I can guarantee you you’ll double, triple or quadruple that money that you spend.’ Really making sure that you can focus on what you’re good at and getting rid of all the other stuff.
[Here are a few other books she recommends: “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success,” by Carol S. Dweck; “Atomic Habits,” by James Clear; “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” by the late Dr Stephen R Covey; and “The Miracle Morning,” by Hal Elrod.]
Recommend magazine: What do you think stops advisors from using the new [tech] tools?
Fiorino: I think there’s a lot of, ‘I don’t know how to use it; I don’t feel I have the time to learn.’ They don’t break things down to bite-sized pieces and they get overwhelmed.
I think inertia kicks in in our industry a lot—there’s a lot of low-cost opportunities with host agencies and you think you’re going to do all these things and you’re all gung-ho, and then life gets in the way and inertia kicks in.
There’s so much they could do so quickly with free AI tools.
Recommend magazine: What are some of the organization’s 2025 achievements you are most proud of?
Fiorino: So many. In 2025, we launched our new homepages and landing pages for our websites. It was just incredible, incredible amount of work, but incredibly successful. Our training has come so far in terms of the opportunities that people have in front of them to learn. We’ve launched so many new programs, new events, summits…they’re events, but they’re learning opportunities.
And I would just also say the results of another year, of the best year ever.
What I’m most proud of is what I see at this conference every year—it just reinforces that what we’re doing is working. [Our advisors] are very happy.
Recommend magazine: What are you most looking forward to in 2026?
Fiorino: [Dream Vacations/CruiseOne] is going to be a billion dollar division in 2026, which is just remarkable to me. [What this says to me is that] people are relying more and more on a travel professional. That’s really exciting to me.
Also, the technology that we are going to be releasing is phenomenal.
Recommend magazine: How do you turn challenges into successes? What advice would you give a travel advisor?
Fiorino: You cannot avoid the challenges, and I think people try to avoid challenges. I actually think challenges are learning opportunities. [Ask yourself] what went wrong; how did it go wrong; and how do I make sure it doesn’t happen again.
If you’re not confronting them, dealing with them and then learning from them, they’re going to actually weigh you down to do less.
Q: What’s one piece of advice you tell someone who says, ‘I think I want to become a travel advisor’?
A: I say, ‘Are you sure—it’s a lot of work.’ I am very honest with people—it’s a difficult but very rewarding job. And it takes a few years to get yourself up and running and get a client base.
They may have to potentially work a full-time job while they’re [starting out]. We’re trying to sell a dream but understand that that dream takes time to figure out and, and work through. You have to go in eyes wide open.
